Staci Olister MD

For my 200^th review, I wanted to review something that I felt strongly about. And there is nothing I feel more strongly about than my one and only child; which is where Dr. Staci Olister comes to relevance.
In 2012, I credit her with saving my son’s life just days after he was born. Our son was delivered 4 weeks early via emergency C-​Section after some previously unknown medical issues were discovered during a bio-​physical ultrasound. Sixty minutes after that ultrasound, we had our baby boy. And after three days in the E.J.G.H. neo-​natal intensive care unit, he was transferred to Children’s Hospital and placed under the care of Neonatologist Staci Olister.
Since E.J.G.H. was unable to stabilize our son or provide a definitive answer as to what was causing our son’s «issues», Dr. Olister took a very aggressive approach and assembled a team of specialists and ordered a battery of tests, including multiple MRI’s and CAT scans. As frightening as this experience was, Dr. Olister’s calming demeanor and heartfelt compassion for what we were experiencing as new parents truly helped us.
Within a ½ day of our arrival, Dr. Olister had diagnosed our son with a very serious condition and immediately started him on medications that saved his life. She could see the grief and disbelief in our eyes when telling us his diagnosis, and comforted us beyond what I thought any doctor was capable of. This was a lady whom we had just met 8 – 10 hours earlier, and here she was hugging us and telling us that she was going to do everything she could for our baby boy; like she had known us for years and was a close personal friend.
That month in the NICU at Children’s Hospital was a rough period, but Dr. Olister kept us informed every step of the way. Her skills as a neonatologist are second to none, but it’s her bedside manner and people skills that make her an exceptional doctor, and one that I would recommend to anyone; even though I hope none of you ever need a neonatologist.
Dr. Olister is a New Orleans native, went to LSU, LSU med school and completed her residency and fellowship at the LSU Medical Center. Children’s Hospital and the City of New Orleans are lucky to have her, and we are forever in her debt for everything that she did for us.

On a side note, I feel it’s relevant to mention that Dr. Olister works for Dr. Brian Barkemeyer, who is the head of the CHNOLA Neonatology Department, and a childhood acquaintance of mine. And it’s my opinion that many of Dr. Olister’s awesome traits are a credit to Dr. Barkemeyer. I’m just thankful we were fortunate enough to have her take care of our son. She is a credit to the medical profession and to humanity.